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Kingdom of Ierendi
Overview Though the vast majority of Ierendians trace their heritage to the mainland, Ierendi’s social customs are based on those of the Makai, which promotes a slow, easy pace of life.  Makai are the native islanders to Ierendi. Playful in times of peace, fearsome in times of war, the Makai never do something halfway. They are a simple people, living off the vast bounty the isles have to offer. Their skin tone is typically bronze, with straight or extremely curly black hair. They speak their own traditional language but also learn common and other languages.  Halflings report that Ierendi was founded by criminals and outcasts from the five shires on 570AC, although the local Makai people will regard this legend with good-natured contempt. Clan Caulker and Clan Longkeel were two of the biggest halfling clans on the island. Ierendi’s cultural makeup is a mixed and strange one. Makai traditional way of life is one without worries. Dwarves are workaholics, halflings are cunning, elves are skilled. The basic Ierendi could shift between a person who is very resourceful and cunning or a person who cares little about other than his own tranquility. From a hero worshiper with dreams of grandeur to a trickster who has a lose sense of moral. A visiting bluffer could find himself in a battle of wits with the ierendian he wants to trick, and even an intimidate check could be seen as an act of bravery or foolishness. To the Ierendi, the pirate life is the ideal life. Bands of free men join together, picking a leader who can be removed if the crew turns against his decisions, sharing danger and reward alike, proving their strength by their strong sword arm and cunning minds. Crews collectively own their ships and the captain divides all loot from ventures among the men. Most crews also own some land which slaves grow crops which provides revenue to the ship for magical improvements, entertainment,and other uses. Some even own businesses of various kinds, or other ships. Each crew sets its own rules and laws within the Code of Honorable Piracy. (or sometimes outside it. For pirates, rules are often more guidelines than laws.) And a pirate crew answers only to the Captain and to the King of Pirates. History As People Know It Only the Makai know the origins of the Ierendi Isles. Their legends assert that we live in the Third World of the Twenty-First Aeon. In the First World of the Twenty-First Aeon, the Makai lived in peace in lands far away, but the time came for the wheel to turn, and the First World underwent the Death of Stone, destroying their homelands; they fled across the rising waters and landed in the Ierendi Isles which they made their own, though they had to fight local lizardfolk sometimes. Life was harder now, and sometimes tribes fought. And yet, things were still largely good in this bountiful land. The rains did not drown the land so often then. But life was too good, and so the Makai fell into sin and the Second World fell to a poison wind that stole men's memories, the Death of Air. Worse yet, it slew all the poor lizardmen, and while the Makai buried them, they sleep unquietly. We live now in the Third World, the Age of Fire. It will end when the sun goes out, and then the Fourth World, the last of this Aeon, will begin. And many fear it comes soon. Very little is known by historians of the period before the Halflings colonized some of the Islands, starting in the sixth century AC. The Death of Stone appears to have been the massive earthquakes which destroyed the southeastern corner of Brun, leaving behind Ierendi and Minrothad. The Death of Air may be somehow connected to the mystery-shrouded apocalypse that engulfed now forgotten civilizations around 500 BC. As for the Death of Fire...let us hope the Makai are just seeing patterns where none exist. Looking for new lands for farming, some Hin arrived on Fletcher and Ierendi Islands in the 6th century, avoiding Elegy Island at the urging of the natives. They built Northkeep and Korsakov Tower and lighthouses to guide ships and began struggling to grow crops under hotter and wetter conditions than they were used to, and trying to find ways to survive the hurricane season. For a long time, they struggled to make a living, until the discovery that tobacco and coffee could be grown here much more profitably than in the Shires led to a boom in their cultivation and in Hin immigration. (Many Hin also died of the local diseases.) Hin flocked to the islands and relations with the natives turned ugly. Brutal Hin vs. Makai war ensued; the Hin largely took over Fletcher and Alcove Island and held substantial portions of Safari and Ierendi Islands when the Thyatians showed up. They took control of Utter and Aloysius Islands, setting up prison camps and using prisoners to grow valuable crops for them. Three way warfare now ensued, with the Hin forced into slavery and the Makai driven back into deep forest and the less valuable for agriculture areas. More and more prisoners were imported to the Isles to grow crops. In the late sixth century, Thyatis and the Hin went to war, and this provided the many prisoners of the prison colonies with an opening. They now revolted under the leadership of Mad Creeg, a man who claimed he had been sent to the Isles for the crime of 'Killing an Immortal of Thyatis'. This seems rather unlikely to be true, but whether he believed it or not, he was a man of great cunning and strength (and quirky humor), who swiftly led the Ierendians to victory. Forming an alliance with the mysterious Honor Islanders, he drove out the Thyatians and declared himself the Pirate King of Ierendi, writing the Code of Honorable Piracy, by which the land would be governed. For several centuries, this schema worked. Many Makai continued to live in the traditional manner, but some assimilated into Pirate society and even rose to be Pirate Kings and Queens. The Hin and the other humans of the Isles tended to dominate Pirate society, however. The towns flourished, growing crops and providing crafts and fencing stolen pirate loot to covert merchants. A dangerous land it was, where a man might have his throat slit for a few copper, but a land where a brave and cunning man faced few limits on how high he could rise or the freedom he could know. In 700 AC for reasons known only to the Immortals, several villages of Human and/or Hin Pirates simply vanished without a trace. This disaster led to a period of religious frenzy and panic which culminated in the rise of the Pirate's Temple. This vanishing, however, was relatively small in scale, and did little to slow the growth of the population. As the Pirates and their towns flourished, the Makai and the Pirate towns increasingly competed for the same land to get food and the same waters for fish. The result, finally, was a brutal war in the 9th century AC. The Makai were defeated, despite their necromantic skills, but the war was long and harsh, and Pirate King Konal imposed what he felt was the worst possible punishment—slavery—on the surviving Makai. They were turned into a labor force for the towns, freeing up the elderly to enjoy their old age and enabling more free men to become pirates or craftsmen (or even traders). This strengthened the Ierendi military, which was essentially the collection of town militias and pirate ships, by enabling more free men to enter those areas. This proved crucial in the late 9th and early 10th century, the Minrothad Guilds and Thyatis turned up the heat on Ierendi. Desperation led Pirate Queen Antonia to approve the growing of cash crops by Makai slaves in order to raise funds to bribe Thyatian commanders and to hire assistance and purchase Glantrian magical items in order to defeat a strong attempt by Thyatis to conquer Ierendi in Belisarius' War in the early 10th century. The precedent having been set, later Pirate Kings gradually expanded slavery, raiding the Turtle Clans of the Atruaghin, and many distant lands to capture slaves to grow crops whose sale would fund military efforts capable of fending off Ierendi's wealthier enemies and free up yet more free men to become pirates and soldiers and traders. However, it also shoved increasing money into the hands of those who ran the plantations from the towns, creating a class of men not dependent on piracy or craftsmanship for their wealth and freedom, but on slavery. Conservative pirates opposed this, but though some Pirate Kings and Queens tried to reduce dependence on slavery, none were able to afford to abolish it. Today, matters are moving towards a crisis. There's not much more room for the expansion of slavery for production of cash crops, but the number of free men continues to grow and Ierendi's enemies still seem to grow stronger faster than it does. Conflict between conservative pirates who despise slavery, wealthy townsmen, and those pirate crews who revel in the wealth slavery brings them continues to heat up and now the current King, a Hin named Captain Mungo Shipshearer, is close to death and competition to see who will replace him is starting to heat up. Further, the slaves grow increasingly restless, and they study the secret Makai arts of necromancy and plot their revenge. Whoever becomes King of the Pirates next will likely determine the future of Ierendi for decades or maybe even centuries to come. Things cannot go on like this—there are many routes the nation could sail, but it must set its course now, or likely fall into discord and be destroyed by its foes. And that, of course, is where you come in. As The Immortals Know It After the fall of Blackmoor, but before 1750 BC, the Ierendi Isles were part of a larger landmass which stretched south into the Sea of Dread. Far to the northwest, descendants of the Azcans dwelt in a giant plateau where the Atruaghin Clans now live, and far to the west, Tanagoro and Elves competed for control of the Serpent Peninsula. Earthquakes and devastation struck in 1750 BC, collapsing caves within the Azcan cave network and sending the Serpent Peninsula on its gradual decline into the sea. The Azcans fought over whose fault the earthquakes were; the losers were driven out and ended up on the new coast, then forced to flee into the ocean in crude boats; most died, but the survivors ended up at Ierendi. Likewise, some Tanagoro tried to flee east across the ocean from the Serpent Peninsula. Most perished, but some were blown far east by storms, crashing in the Ierendi Isles. And finally, unfortunate lizardmen from the Malpheggi swamp were swept out to sea by the disaster; most perished, but some survived and ended up in Ierendi, floating there on giant mats of plants from the swamp. Over the next 750 years, small tribes of Azcans and Tanagoro formed on the Ierendi Isles, living by a mix of slash and burn agriculture and fishing. They encountered each other, traded ideas, and intermarried. And fought. A lot. Eventually, they intermarried to the point where they blended into a single, quarrelsome people, the Makai, cooperating to survive the often harsh hurricane season of the Isles and to fight the local lizardmen. The Lizardmen fought back as best they could; the warfare was inconclusive and marked by periods of cooperation as well. They dominated Aloysius, Safari, and Elegy Islands, along with having some presence in the rest of the chain. The Makai had only crude weaponry; the more successful crafters of both origin cultures had not been the ones who had to flee for their lives, ending up here. The result was that when the Nithians surfaced in 1000 BC, the Nithians easily crushed and conquered the Makai, aided by the fact that entire Makai villages simply vanished once the Nithians won their initial victories. The Malpheggi, who had never quite flourished here also fell to the Nithians. For five hundred years, the Makai and the Malpheggi were enslaved by the Nithians, turned into producers of valuable cash crops—coffee, rice, sugar, cotton, indigo, and tobacco—to be shipped back to the Nithian empire. It was from the Nithians that the arts of necromancy passed into the lore of the Malpheggi and the Makai. And it was the arts of necromancy they would turn on their putative masters. Guided by their patron immortals, the Makai and Malpheggi rose up against their Nithian overlords in 500 BC, right as the Immortals descended on Nithia to destroy it. The Makai destroyed the surviving Nithians. Due to the Immortals stepping in, the survivors concluded the world had been destroyed and reborn a second time. (The Makai dimly remembered the 1750 BC quakes as the first breaking of the world, the Death of Earth. The Nithian necromantic plague which destroyed the Malpheggi and killed many Makai was remembered as part of the Death of Air. The Death of Fire is generally expected to be coming, and then the Death of Water, which will end the cycle and start a new Aeon... More on this later.) Aid from Ka enabled them to recover their ancestral ways, now modified by their new necromantic and religious practices, and eventually recover. For centuries, they lived a quiet life of periodic natural disaster, hurricanes, warfare, peace, and fishing. At times, Hin navigators visited from the Five Shires to explore and trade with the natives; the Traladarans, on the other hand, were too poor of sailors to drop in. The Thyatians visited the isles for trade after the rise of the Thyatian empire, though local diseases (descended from the desperate magical and necromantic plague revenge of the now long extinct Nithians on their revolting slaves) killed many would be traders and discouraged Thyatian colonization. Looking for new lands for farming, some exiled Hin arrived on Fletcher and Ierendi Islands in the 6 century, avoiding Elegy Island at the urging of the natives. They built Northkeep and Korsakov Tower and lighthouses to guide ships and began struggling to grow crops under hotter and wetter conditions than they were used to, and trying to find ways to survive the hurricane season. For a long time, they struggled to make a living, until the discovery that tobacco and coffee could be grown here much more profitably than in the Shires led to a boom in their cultivation and in Hin immigration. (Many Hin also died of the local diseases.) Hin flocked to the islands and relations with the natives turned ugly. Brutal Hin vs. Makai war ensued; the Hin largely took over Fletcher and Alcove Island and held substantial portions of Safari and Ierendi Islands when the Thyatians showed up. They took control of Utter and Aloysius Islands, setting up prison camps and using prisoners to grow valuable crops for them. Three way warfare now ensued, with the Hin forced into slavery and the Makai driven back into deep forest and the less valuable for agriculture areas. More and more prisoners were imported to the Isles to grow crops. In the late sixth century, Thyatis and the Hin went to war, and this provided the many prisoners of the prison colonies with an opening. They now revolted under the leadership of Mad Creeg, a man who claimed he had been sent to the Isles for the crime of 'Killing an Immortal of Thyatis'. This seems rather unlikely to be true, but whether he believed it or not, he was a man of great cunning and strength (and quirky humor), who swiftly led the Ierendians to victory. Forming an alliance with the mysterious Honor Islanders, he drove out the Thyatians and declared himself the Pirate King of Ierendi, writing the Code of Honorable Piracy, by which the land would be governed. This code forbade the growing of cash crops for sale abroad and required all men who would be free to spend a period of their youth on a pirate ship. Those who grew too old for the sea or who had crafts needed by pirates but not easily practiced at sea would live in villages on the land, which would serve as the home bases of pirate ships and fleets. Every five years, there would be a grand contest of pirate skills, the Tournament of Piracy; the winner would become Pirate King. Ships would govern themselves, electing a Captain whose word was law, but who any honest pirate could challenge for the leadership. Any Captain could enter the Pirate Conclave every five years (or on the death of a King) and make a bid for the kingship. And the Pirate King would rule with the 'advice' of the Captains. Ex-Thyatians, Hin, Makai, anyone who dwelt in the land and lived or had lived the life of a Pirate could be a free man in Ierendi, chosing who would lead him and bringing down the wrath of the former prisoners and slaves on the 'civilized' nations who had laid them in chains. For several centuries, this schema worked. Many Makai continued to live in the traditional manner, but some assimilated into Pirate society and even rose to be Pirate Kings and Queens. The Hin and the other humans of the Isles tended to dominate Pirate society, however. The towns flourished, growing crops and providing crafts and fencing stolen pirate loot to covert merchants. A dangerous land it was, where a man might have his throat slit for a few copper, but a land where a brave and cunning man faced few limits on how high he could rise or the freedom he could know. In 700 AC for reasons known only to the Immortals, several villages of Human and/or Hin Pirates simply vanished without a trace. This disaster led to a period of religious frenzy and panic which culminated in the rise of the Pirate's Temple. (Uknown to the locals, Loki took several villages to plant them among the Merry Pirates in the Great Shire Plane to raid cities across all planes.) This vanishing, however, was relatively small in scale, and did little to slow the growth of the population. A clock was ticking and that clock was named 'population growth'. As the Pirates and their towns flourished, the Makai and the Pirate towns increasingly competed for the same land to get food and the same waters for fish. The result, finally, was a brutal war in the 9 century AC. The the Makai were defeated, despite their necromantic skills, but the war was long and harsh, and Pirate King Konal imposed what he felt was the worst possible punishment—slavery—on the surviving Makai. They were turned into a labor force for the towns, freeing up the elderly to enjoy their old age and enabling more free men to become pirates or craftsmen (or even traders). This strengthened the Ierendi military, which was essentially the collection of town militias and pirate ships, by enabling more free men to enter those areas. This proved crucial in the late 9th and early 10th century, the Minrothad Guilds and Thyatis turned up the heat on Ierendi. Desperation led Pirate Queen Antonia to approve the growing of cash crops by Makai slaves in order to raise funds to bribe Thyatian commanders and to hire assistance and purchase Glantrian magical items in order to defeat a strong attempt by Thyatis to conquer Ierendi in Belisarius' War (905-918 AC). The precedent having been set, later Pirate Kings gradually expanded slavery, raiding the Turtle Clans of the Atruaghin, and many distant lands to capture slaves to grow crops whose sale would fund military efforts capable of fending off Ierendi's wealthier enemies and free up yet more free men to become pirates and soldiers and traders. However, it also shoved increasing money into the hands of those who ran the plantations from the towns, creating a class of men not dependent on piracy or craftsmanship for their wealth and freedom, but on slavery. Conservative pirates opposed this, but though some Pirate Kings and Queens tried to reduce dependence on slavery, none were able to afford to abolish it. Today, matters are moving towards a crisis. There's not much more room for the expansion of slavery for production of cash crops, but the number of free men continues to grow and Ierendi's enemies still seem to grow stronger faster than it does. Conflict between conservative pirates who despise slavery, wealthy townsmen, and those pirate crews who revel in the wealth slavery brings them continues to heat up and now the current King, a Hin named Captain Mungo Shipshearer, is close to death and competition to see who will replace him is starting to heat up. Further, the slaves grow increasingly restless, and they study the secret Makai arts of necromancy and plot their revenge. Whoever becomes King of the Pirates next will likely determine the future of Ierendi for decades or maybe even centuries to come. Things cannot go on like this—there are many routes the nation could sail, but it must set its course now, or likely fall into discord and be destroyed by its foes. And that, of course, is where the PCs come in. Climate Ierendi tends to be hot and wet, especially wet. Winter begins as the previous year's hurricane season ends, wobbling between the forties and sixties degrees Farenheit with very brief freezing spells or unusually warm spells. Cold rain and fog is very common, especially fog in the morning. Spring is short and relatively dry, followed by a very long hot and humid summer which often spikes up into the one hundreds and is commonly in the nineties. Starting in late summer through the fall, hurricanes begin to periodically slam into the isles, coming up from the southeast and rarely the east. Thyatis and the Minrothad Guilds end up with most of the more easterly hurricanes, however. The Land Alcove Island This island is officially the home of the Pirate King, whoever that is at any given time, and to many pirates who form his fleet. If Mungo is up to anything secret, it's hidden here. Even other Ierendians don't know much of what goes down here. Aloysius Island This was once home to Thyatian plantations and prison camps. Now the plantations are Ierendi controlled and full of enslaved Thyatians. The inhabitants are extremely bitter against Thyatis. Livingsworth Tower''' ' is kept in pristine condition as it was in the days of slavery and used to hold Thyatian prisoners before they're sold to a plantation or craftshop. Thyatian slaves are treated especially brutally and many die fairly quickly; but it's always easy to get more. It is also to be noted that some plantations here grow zzonga fruit and make huge amounts of money smuggling it into Alphatia. Jortan ' the capital, is a fairly traditional Ierendi community, other than increased brutality to Thyatians. It does not have much of a cultural life, though Aloysius Island is home to several high quality breweries who produce very high quality alcohol and Ierendians can always find an excuse to party. There are ongoing rumors the Thyatians buried something of great value here during the uprising which overthrew them. Maps and rumors are always floating about, but if anyone's found the giant haul, they have yet to say where it is. Mount Umbaroa There is also an ancient complex of unknown origin, guarded by powerful fire and earth elementals built into '''Mount Umbaroa. Many have tried to explore it and died; the Honor Islanders are known to have mounted an expedition which cared off some ancient artifacts of unknown origin from it, but insistent rumor asserts they were unable to bypass the more powerful inner guardians. About once every thirty years, the two volcanos erupt in unison. Mixed in with normal volcanic rock are deposits of a blue-black rock, known to the locals as Aloysian Obsidian. It contains very potent magical energies; an ounce of it can take the place of 1,000 GP worth of components for making magical items. Every time the volcanos erupt, there is an economic boom as people scramble madly to claim as much of it as they can and sell it. The next eruption is coming soon, and a large number of dwarves have flocked here at the behest of various landowners who hope for deposits on their lands. The relatively normal volcanic rock is slightly infused with magic and is used to make fertilizers which can double an area's yield. The whole area is also full of precious metals and gems underground; it's likely the dwarves coming for the Obsidian Rush will stay to set up mining colonies. Strange lizardmen artifacts are sometimes found in the swamps of this island; there's an entire lizardman city buried under the swamp, though it would be hard for anyone to find this out. Elegy Island Mostly overrun by the Restless Dead. Nula is a fortified fishing town and haven for necromancers and Death Kahuna which sits at the tag end of a short peninsula jutting out into the ocean. Most of the natives are Makai who work as pirates or fishermen to support the Death Kahuna and necromancers whose job it is to appease the dead. This, along with Roister Island, is one of the major havens for those Makai who are not slaves. The Ierendi government helps to fund the town so as to allow the Kahuna and necromancers to focus on the rites and raids which keep the dead in check. Fletcher Island Intensely cultivated, this was home to the first Hin colonies and they still dominate the island. There are no Hin slaves on Fletcher, only human ones, a mix of Sindhi, Atruaghin, Thyatians, and Makai. Architecture is in Hin styles, scaled according to who lives in it. The island is also noted for its colorful birds, many of whose feathers are used to make 'traditional Makai art' to be sold to those with too much money on their hands in other lands. Or visitors. Vlaad The place to go if you want 'traditional Makai art' or other kinds of art; the local Hin and their slaves pump out paintings, sculpture, clothing, headdresses, etc., using local materials for sale to tourists (rare) and merchants who will sell it in other nations (much more common). It is thus riddled with workshops. They are also noted for making supersoft mattresses stuffed with the feathers of local birds; these fetch a very high price. Mount Yuria currently quiescent; it only goes off about once a century and usually dumps its lava westwards, slowly growing the island. When the lava goes east or south, mass panic and catastrophe tends to ensue. Hin Pirates The Hin pirates of Fletcher Island operate from many little coastal bases and communities and have a special rivalry with the pirates of the Shires. They also raid the Atruaghin clans frequently. They continue to practice many traditional Hin customs, though they have no crucibles of blackflame. (When brought to the isles, the braziers simply went out; the Hin never quite figured out why. This led to the collapse of clan structures in the colonies.) Honour Island Home to a secretive society of Fire Mages who probably don't want you to visit them. Rumors claim it's actually a tourist trap for tourists from the Elemental Plane of Fire... Ierendi Island Home to the capital, Ierendi City, the central government, the main naval base, and endless plantations where slaves are worked to death to grow cash crops, along with a small dwarven colony in the mountains. Over half the population of the Isles lives here. Ierendi City Ierendi City itself is home to 18,000 people; the eastern coastal zone is wild and lawless, ruled by the pirates, whereas the western half is home to merchants and artisans; the townsfolk maintain peace and quiet. A few places of interest in the city are noted below: * The Friendly Burrow is probably the largest Hin brothel outside of the Five Shires. It is mostly underground, done in Hin architectural style, but big enough for any human to visit as well. Publically, it is a 'tea house', run by demurely clad hin women. But the ladies are for sale for reasonable rates. The house maintains a stock of potions for wealthy visitors, in order to allow for growth and shrinking as desired. There are rumors that the Thyatian ambassador to the Shires, Lord Caine, has been known to disguise himself and somehow come here to patronize the place, but most people consider this ludicrous. Several pirate crews keep a running tab here for their membership. Most, but not all of those crews are hin-dominated. * Ganti's Flying Carpets '''is officially a flying carpet business run by a group of Glantrians, the family of Ganti himself, a graduate of the Great School of Magic in Glantri City. He also sells a small selection of spells as an official sideline, mostly related to flight, levitation, and moving freight. * '''The Ierendi Northshore Theatre '''stands on a height on the north side of the city, looking down at the coast. It controls a small amount of beach, which has been walled off, not so much for security as to simply block anyone seeing it. It includes a restaurant, but its two main purposes are to serve as both a brothel and a theatre. Its public performances tend to be historical and romantic plays with lots of illusions to augment the reality of it all. Once a year, on Stormreach / Ierendi Independence Day, the theatre sponsors a rooftop festival whose guests can watch a recreation of one of the famous naval battles from the war for Independence, followed by a play about the beginning of the revolt in the main theatre. Behind the scenes, its ladies and gentlemen of the evening specialize in playing out people's romantic fantasies; it doesn't come cheap, but if you have enough money, you could have a threesome with Empress Eriadna and Emperor Thincol atop the Glantrian Parliament building and most people would swear it had to be real. It's unclear who the real boss of the place is—'Lady Drama' seems to have run the place for over a hundred years. She always wears an old Millenian drama mask which changes to reflect her emotions. Rumor claims it can force those emotions on others if she desires. She has appeared as everything from a well-dressed female kobold to a lady ogre. * '''The Southside Plantation Outlet Store is, in theory, a place where the goods produced by the Southside Plantation, south of the city, are sold. This includes a restaurant which is largely vegetarian and focuses especially on fruit. In actual fact, however, it also serves as a place for buying various plantbased drugs and plants of many kinds from many places (all generally stolen by pirates) and for fencing any sort of pirated goods which are plant based. This is a Makai-operated business. * The Teamster's Union '''controls the loading and unloading of goods and their bulk transport inside the city. Those who fail to employ the union had better either be powerful enough to mow angry mobs of teamsters like wheat or else be ready to flee the city. This union has also acted in the past to wipe out bandits in the city who got too out of control. There is no thieves' guild because the last one was wiped out by the Teamsters on the excuse it failed to pay them to haul its stolen goods. * The inland region of the city, however, is much more clean and coherently organized, full of craft guilds and the homes of plantation owners, merchants, and artisans. It is patrolled by mercenary guards and militia and divided into districts with fences and gates. It is in a perpetual state of feud and skirmishing with the pirate zone, but since the pirates rule the docks, it has to come to terms with them. Increasingly, though, its inhabitants are growing in wealth and challenging the freedom of the pirate district. * '''The Pirate King's Palace is a ramshackle accumulation of buildings and extensions around an old Thyatian fort which was itself built around a Hin stronghold. It stands above the harbor on a height, its weaponry posed to attack anyone threatening it. Some parts of it are dangerous to enter, and there is a maze of tunnels and minicomplexes under it, built for reasons now forgotten by past Pirate Kings. Some have been sealed off and may contain dangerous traps, monsters, and treasures. One set of tunnels runs a very long way to a covert cave harbor down the coast where emergency escape vessels are kept. The current King keeps parts of the old Hin stronghold, where he dwells with his family and friends and closest servants, in good repair along with some other parts of it for his government officials, such as they are. There is a system for relaying hanging coaches which can hold up to 20 people down or up a system of ropes and pullies to and from the harbor, used for the King, his retainers, and guests; it used to require slave labor but now it is enchanted, an innovation of the current king, who felt it a waste of slave labor. * The arable regions of the Island are heavily exploited to grow food and especially cash crops, divided into many plantations and craft communities. However, the mineral wealth has only lightly been tapped and negotiations are continuing with dwarves to form colonies to better exploit it. Many of the communities are too similar to each other to be worth describing, but a few places have features of note. (Many communities are a mix of Hin and Humans living together, ruling over slaves.) * Maona Kea '''is home to one of the proudest of Pirate Temples; this largely non-Makai human and Hin community possesses a sword in its temple said to have once belonged to Sinbad. Many failed attempts to steal the Sword of Sinbad have taken place over the years, but it always ends up here. It is not clear if this is a true relic of Sinbad, but the blade is known to grow stronger when used on a boat or at sea and can radiate cold and acid at its user's command. The priests are VERY paranoid about theft. Especially since the time fifty years ago when the People's Temple replaced it with a wooden replica and somehow no one noticed until it broke during a worship ceremony. (Leading to many People's Temple priests being killed by thugs hired by the temple.) * '''Mount Kikapua '''is the tallest volcano in Ierendi. The Hope is said to have passed into the planes from here, and the travelling priests of the People's Temple make pilgrimages here to worship once a year when possible. It is especially favored for staging ceremonies to mock the Pirate's Temple's official holy days. A few People's Temple priests have found the gates to the Elemental Planes of Earth, Air, and Fire to be found here. Many theorize there must be a gate to Water also, but if it exists, it has eluded detection. * '''Mount Makai '''is home to a major Makai druidic community; this group was instrumental in the eventual amalgamation of the Azcan and Tanagoro inhabitants of the islands fusing into one people. Their current focus, however, is rites to keep the sun from going out; many of them fear the Honor Islanders are somehow draining the sun's power, but they are too weak to challenge them directly. Instead, they spend a lot of time recruiting their own fire elemental allies and trying to strengthen the element's influence on the isles. * '''Port Siers (6,000) sits on top of a Nithian ruin, buried under dirt and volcanic rock. Persistent Makai legend claims there was once a volcano near it in the mountains. If this is the case, no one knows what happened to it, though SOMETHING produced the layer of volcanic rock between the ruins and the city atop it. The Pirate's Temple here has a small collection of Nithian boats on display, all taken from the ruins. Fire creatures and undead seem to be fighting it out futilely for control of the ruins, in the accessible areas. * Tooraka '''is another community of Makai pirates. They follow a mix of Druidic and Pirate faith, with temples to each. Runaway Makai slaves head for here in hopes of joining a Makai pirate crew. If more slaves escaped, this would likely overstretch resources, but as it stands, it helps the town have more pirates. * The '''Styvros Mercantile Exchange is located on Ierendi City Southshore, is a warehouse for storing goods used by merchants, pirates and local criminals. It houses stolen goods, murdered bodies, and kidnapped victims for a dozen infamous criminals. The five large barrels nearest the secret hatch into the dungeon are sealed with wax to hide the stench of the corpses within. The owner, Mrs Lundira Styvros lives in a small house in Ambassadors Quarters. Roister Island Roister Island is home to Makai who have adapted to Pirate Culture and to their slaves and a small dwarven colony. The slaves dredge their swamps and build islands on which cash crops are grown to buy food (The dwarves dig up gold and gems to buy food.). Insects are especially bad here and many natives and slaves wear outfits similar to beekeeper uniforms if they have to go far from the coast. Some also raise bees for the honey. Ronowac and other small coastal towns are home to pirate bands and trader ships which are supported by the slave labor and by selling needed goods to the dwarves. Prone to flooding, homes here are built on stilts with netting covering the windows to keep out annoying insects. Indeed, a visitor, having climbed a ladder or gone up a ramp can use the aerial streets (wooden mostly) to go around the town without ever touching the ground. The great trench north of Roister Island has made this an area of major fish habitation; the locals favor a mixture of drugs and boat-mounted crossbows which fire harpoons for fishing the larger fish and nets for the smaller. Visitors are sometimes invited to try their luck at shooting drugged fish. Safari Island Overrun by endless monsters, periodic monster hunts trim the population and give people chances at acquiring valuable monster bits. If you feel lucky / suicidal, you can go out on your own or with friends to hunt for creatures you need. Sindaba Tower Sindaba Tower''' is the center of government on the Island, a strong fortified town with a connected keep (which was once just a tower to hide from monsters in, long ago.) The town makes a steady trade in monster parts to visiting merchants. Adventurers bring lots of wealth here. The townsfolk are pretty tough from having to periodicaly fend off monster assaults; everyone is required to serve in the militia from 18 to 22. '''Utter Island In many ways, Utter Island is just like the more occupied parts of the Isles, divided between land-dwelling townsfolk, plantation slaves and freebooting pirates. However, a substantial chunk of the Island's population are Kagyar-worshipping Albinos brought by the Thyatians to the Isles to exploit the building skills of their priests. A few Albinos are to be found all over Ierendi, engaged in construction work, but the majority live on Utter Island, and refer to themselves as either Utter Islanders or Kagyar's children. (This often irritates dwarves.) It is unclear where the Albinos came from, as they refer to their old homeland as Gashtunk, which simply means 'Pale Home' in their old language, though they seem to be originally Neather in stock. Their faith commands them to build incessantly; they will possess in death the places they built in life. They also believe that their Immortal will come to them if they can only build him a sufficiently grand home. Not that anyone agrees on his tastes. Given they prefer to work with sand and coral and other things found on beaches, these works only survive because the priests of Kagyar the Builder learn spells from their patron which can make them permanent. Those who leave the island are usually also versed in other construction arts, or else are clerics of sufficient power. Some become pirates for a time to raise funds in order to pull off a really impressive building project. The island is littered with old buildings, some of which are now home to slaves, other Ierendi, or in a few cases, animals or monsters. Utter Island slaves are usually far better, though often oddly housed than those on other islands. The Pirate's Temple here and the Temple of Kagyar are both masterpieces of the art, though they would look strange to outsiders. White Island Home to an odd sect of druids and their WHITE APES. The wise do not mess with anyone who can say 'sacred white gorilla' with a straight face. The Ruler Mungo Ship-Shearer (Halfling Fighter), Pirate King of Ierendi, is an old man, getting sick and worn out. During his reign, he has built up a firm alliance with the Five Shires and led many successful raids. But now he just seems to be idling away the days, waiting for his term of service to run out when the next Tournament of Piracy is called. Which may be soon, given his declining health. He is rumored to be spending all his time on some secret project. Government The national government of Ierendi lays claim to all of the Isles in the name of the Ierendi pirates and thus expects everyone to obey the King of the Pirates, chosen from among the Captains of Ierendi (themselves chosen by the crews of their ships). The King commands foreign relations and arbitrates between ships. He can command any pirate to do anything in theory; in practice, he is limited by custom and his lack of a real police force. He also commands in war. Each ship controls tracts of land from which they draw revenue, in addition to their piratical earnings; some land belongs personally to the King of the Pirates, and other land to his office (Such as his palace and Alcove Island). Those who live on the land (slaves, craftsmen, merchants, etc) either pay rent or, in the case of slaves, work directly for the crew which owns the land. Each ship sets its own rules on who joins the crew and the property rights they gain. The Honorable Code of Piracy governs relations between pirates. In practice, Ierendi is mostly governed by personal agreements and rental arrangements. The wise seek out strong patrons or ally themselves to strong groups which band together for mutual support (pirate crews, guilds, unions, etc.) so that others won't feel free to use violence against them and will feel compelled to obey their promises. But there's a lot of petty and sometimes even group violence. It's seen by the pirates as the price of freedom, but the non-pirate landdwellers increasingly want a system with more protection for them, more order and predictability, and less killing. This seems likely to become a major issue soon. Economics A huge variety of fruits, vegetables, melons, and the like flourish in Ierendi. Pineapples, bannanas and the all-present avocado are especially popular. Rice is the most common grain, and huge amounts of fish are consumed as the primary form of meat. Beef, chicken, and pork are all relatively rare and expensive. A lot of food is imported, however, as the best agricultural land goes to growing tobacco, coffee, indigo, sugar, and cotton. Both food and cash crops are generally grown by slaves overseen by free men. Slaves are organized into 'gangs' according to age and experience, with the hardest work done by those in the 18-35 range. Plantations are typically owned by a particular pirate ship or town, which appoints an overseer to watch over it and collect the revenues. Ierendi is hitting its limits in terms of useful agricultural land relative to its population size. This is creating some amount of social stress, though right now, agriculture remains highly profitable. At the cost of creating an evergrowing number of angry slaves waiting for a chance to break free. In addition, a variety of luxuries and goods are either imported or else stolen by pirates; piracy forms an important component of the economy as well. Clothing The Ierendi tend to wear much less clothing than people of other nations; they picked this up from the Makai, who practiced it for simple utilitarian reasons—it's very hot and humid and if you wear much clothing, it gets very uncomfortable. Ierendi Pirates tend to wear little to no armor, and most folk wear as little as possible. The Ierendi have no taboos about showing off a woman's bare breasts, so most Ierendi go naked to the waist except for jewelry (which they love to wear in great quantities), then wear some sort of pants made of sturdy material. Skirts are very rare in Ierendi; men and women alike generally just wear pants. Formal occassions simply mean you wear FANCY pants. If they have to operate in dense forest or if they head to colder climates, they put on a short or long-sleeved tunic to cover their arms and torso. In Ierendi, they usually don't bother to accomodate other people's clothing taboos, but those who travel to foreign lands will usually conform to local mores so as to avoid endless trouble. (Those who have converted to the Eternal Truth generally wear a tunic all the time; this has led to a lot of conflict between Ylari missionaries and the natives. It's to be noted that some missionaries eventually go native and play down the issue of modesty in terms of shirt wearing. This gets them in trouble with the next wave of missionaries...) They also like to wear hats; pirate crews are noteworthy for wearing hats of many lands, taken from past ships plundered. Craftsfolk and merchants are noted for wearing belts and/or pants with many pouches on them for carrying tools, money, etc. Many Ierendi carry umbrellas and the Ierendi have turned this into an art form, creating highly decorated umbrellas (enchanted umbrellas are a status symbol). Many Ierendi umbrellas contain concealed weapons—dart guns, sword blades, etc. Those who live on islands most afflicted with flying, biting/stinging insects wear nets or bee-keeper outfits over their body when heading into infested areas. Food Regardless of wealth levels, the heart of the Ierendi diet is seafood, though the wealthier you are, the more often you eat mutton, beef, or pork. Pork is the second most common form of meat. A lot of pork is turned into salt pork as a ration for the slaves. Slaves largely live on a diet of salt pork or fish, citrus fruit (to prevent scurvy), combined with greens they grew themselves, and hard tack (a kind of grain cracker). Citrus fruit is grown in large quantities and eaten by everyone (including slaves) as the Ierendi are intimately aware of the menace of scurvy. The Ierendi are very fond of noodles and rice, moreso than bread (which tends to end up soaking up too much humidity and getting nasty), though they make grains into crackers for feeding the slaves. The Ierendi drink a lot of fruit juices, though they enjoy alcohol from beer to wine as much as any nation in the Known World. Tobacco is grown here in large quantities; many pirates smoke like chimneys until their supply runs out. Slaves are not allowed to smoke, which is to say, they hide the tobacco they sneak out of the fields, then smoke it at night, out in the woods, where their masters can't see them. Religion The Ierendi have four major faiths: * The Eternal Truth: An increasing number of townsfolk follow the way of Al-Kalim. * Hangoon: The druidic religion of the Makai. The Kahunas of Life and Death teach a cycle of elemental ages in which the world gradually crumbles from an early peak, then is reborn from its own destruction. The Kahunas of Life (Druids and Clerics) and Death (Necromancers) protect their people during the turning of the ages. The current age is the Third Age, which ends when the Sun dies, and most Makai figure the end is likely to come soon. This church serves five Immortals, though it only names four; Ka is the silent benefactor of the Church, while Grandmother Life (Terra), Grandfather Sun (Ixion), Grandfather Death (Thanatos), and Grandmother Sea (Protius) are openly named. (Thanatos is not so much worshipped as appeased. In theory, anyway...) * The People's Temple: This is the faith of the slaves, which seems to thrive on mocking other religions. It speaks of Immortals to come who will free the slaves and overthrow the pirates. It is illegal and widespread. * The Pirate's Temple/Church of Ierendi: This is the religion of the pirates of Ierendi. The official name of the Pirate's Temple is the Church of Ierendi, but in practice, it is usually referred to as the Pirate's Temple. The People Total Population: '''294,518 * 3900 Dwarves * 25500 Elves * 65,910 Hin * 199,208 Humans (5,000 are Albinos) '''Ierendi Dwarf Ierendi's Dwarves are almost all colonists from Rockhome. They have yet to develop much to distinguish them from Rockhome dwarves, except they sweat like crazy and virtually always are seen drinking huge amounts of water. Most still stubbornly wear a lot of wool clothing, though this is going to have to change. Ierendi Elf The Elves of Ierendi are mostly Karameikan or Minrothad in descent; their ancestors were enslaved by the Thyatians and shipped to Ierendi. They are not organized into clans and have no Trees of Life, not even psuedosubstitute artifacts. Indeed, they've come to mock the whole idea and have largely rejected Ilsundal and Mealidan and usually worship at the Pirate's Temple or else follow one of the Immortals more commonly worshipped by humans (Valerias, Diulanna, Asterius, Talitha, Loki, and the Karameikan Triad are favorites), though some follow Calitha Starbrow or Ordana. Ierendi Halfling Ierendi Halflings look physically like normal halflings, but are usually somewhat less chubby. Ierendi Halflings are always a little hungry, unless they are rich. However, their clan structures collapsed during the colonial period and they tend to be closer to humans in behavior than most halflings—more inquisitive, less clannish, less conservative, and sadly, less trustworthy. This is not to say they are sharks in the social sea, but Ierendi Halflings tend to have a rather more devious streak. Ierendi Human Ierendi humans come from anywhere that touches the Sea of Dawn or the Sea of Dread. Or anywhere else Thyatians found slaves. Thus, they may look like Norwolders, Thyatians, Karameikans, etc. The most common type, however, is a combination of pale hair (white, silver, blonde, or red) with a mediterranean complexion. Makai Human The Makai have reddish-brown complexions and dark hair and dark eyes. Traditionally, they lived through a mix of hunting and fishing with some horticulture. However, the traditional Makai way of life has largely ceased to exist. Today, the Makai are either slaves or else have assimilated to the Ierendi way of life...keeping in mind that a fair amount of the Ierendi way of life is derived from Makai customs. Military Ierendi's only standing navy is the forces supplied by Honor Island, but in times of war, all active pirates must flock to the flag, giving Ierendi a fairly substantial and expert fleet. Where Thyatis and Minrothad's navies fight with precision, the Ierendi are closer to a naval barbarian horde, relying on speed and the individual excellence of their crews, combined with the substantial magical enchantments of their ships, to deal with better disciplined foes. Fancy manuevering would require giving up freedom, after all. Man for man, the Ierendi have the best sailors in the world; under a skillful Pirate King, this skill can be used to best effect; under weak kings, enmities between commanders undercut the effectiveness and cooperation of the military, leading to disaster. Their fireships have never been bested by conventional naval warships, the only fireships sunk were lost in rough seas. They have an alchemical concoction similar to Greek fire. There is also a community of gnomes on the island, who helped design and build the fireships. In the timeline these gnomes are referred to as the Supreme Symposium of Gnomish Syndicates, I presume they originally came from Karameikos The continual piratical operations of the Ierendi Pirates keep everyone's skills up; most free men spend at least a while as a pirate, making it easy to replace losses so long as they don't grow too intense. There is a very small group of professional soldiers who guard forts for defense. Organized into one hundred man companies, the Royal Pirate Army numbers only 1000 men. They all train as archers and spearmen in both light and medium armor. There is also a militia force, organized by the towns and villages. Lightly armored, it focuses on missile fire and operating in dense forest and jungle. In addition to fighting in wartime, it helps to hunt runaway slaves. Up to 5000 militia can be fielded in companies of irregular size when needed. Another five thousand low quality militia of old men can be fielded in deep emergencies. Views of Other Nations * Kingdom of Alfheim: '''The Elves understand how to take life at its own pace like we do. * '''Empire of Alphatia: '''The enemy of my enemy is my friend. For now. * '''Atruaghin Clans: '''Pathetic primitives who are easily taken as slaves. I'm surprised the Sindi or Darokin haven't conquered them. * '''Republic of Darokin: '''Good customers for our goods though they try to pretend they don't know where the goods came from. But so long as they have money, they can hallucinate whatever they like. * '''Empire of Denagoth: '''They crave our goods but tend to try to cheat us. It is a place where strong, cunning men can flourish, but I think their emphasis on conquest and strong rule goes too far. * '''Ethengar Khanates: '''The what? Who? Sea of Grass? How do you sail in grass? * '''The Five Shires: '''Their pirates are so cute. Sometimes enemies, sometimes friends like right now. But always funny. * '''Republic of Glantri: '''A useful source of magical items and a good customer for our products. And less hypocritical about it than Darokin. They're cool. * '''Kingdom of Ierendi: '''There is no better place in all the world. So come visit us and bring LOTS OF MONEY. * '''Grand Duchy of Karameikos: '''Sheep to be shorn, especially the Black Eagle Baron. Stefan is pathetic and the Traladarans have always been helpless. Perhaps after the fiftieth time their homes burn, they'll learn to be real men. But probably not. * '''Minrothad Guilds: '''They're like your evil little brother who you caught dismembering your friends. Thugs and murderers and corrupted by their own wealth. Slaves to their guilds, they're not like us AT ALL. * '''Kingdom of Ostland: '''Stuck in the past. And homocidal. Fortunately, we're too far away. * '''Kingdom of Rockhome: '''Dwarves make lousy pirates, but they fight very well and they're excellent craftsmen so we respect them. * '''Kingdom of Sindh: '''A bunch of idiots who are all basically slaves of their own religious beliefs and social structure. Easy to panic by making them 'unclean'. Idiots. * '''Soderfjord Jarldoms: '''Too busy killing each other. No honor at all. * '''Thanegioth Archipelago: '''There's talk of us taking this over. A great place to hide your base. * '''Empire of Thyatis: '''Like a drunken, greedy, violent father. Target them for maximum fraud. * '''Kingdom of Vestland: '''Didn't they all get eaten by trolls? * '''Emirates of Ylarum: '''Obsessed with how green and growing we are. Very stuck in their ways; I can hardly believe some of the townies have converted to their ridiculous beliefs. Religion Immortals Worshipped * Mother Nature (Djaea) * Old Man of the Sea (Protius) * Nyx * Kythria * Nob Nar * Rathanos * Twelve Watchers * Asterius * Saturnius * Ka * al-Kalim * Orisis Notes: 1. Given the nature of the Makai religion, which is very animistic and based on the respect for nature and the ancestors, Djaea, Protius and Nyx have been chosen as the best patrons for the Makai shamans and druids. Indeed the Makai worship Mother Nature as the embodiment of seasons and the earth, the Old Man of the Sea as the embodiment of seas, rainfall and all that comes from the sea (including seafood and pearls), while Nyx is considered the patroness of death, night and the dead (particularly strong is her worship in Utter island among the albinos and in Elegy Island), although she is not seen as a negative force, rather an inevitable one. 2. I suppose that Rathanos is worshipped by the majority of the inhabitants of Honour Island and served by the clerics who live there. It is likely that some of the wizards pay homage to the Fire Elemaster, too, although there are no clerics of this immortal being around. 3. Although there are no places of worship dedicated to Sinbad in Ierendi (as the cult's dogma imposes), there are many wandering clerics and followers of Sinbad here. 4. Kythria is a popular figure in Ierendi, since she was the first adventurer who helped create the Crown Tournament and the first Queen who won her crown. She's worshipped as a heroine and godlike figure by Ierendians and adventurers alike. 5. Saturnius and Nob Nar are worshipped by adventurers and pirates (especially Saturnius). 6. Ka is worshipped by the few lizardmen still living in the isles of Ierendi. 7. Orisis is worshipped by the secretive and reclusive druids and clerics of White Isle. 8. al-Kalim is worshipped by a small branch of the church of the Eternal Truth which was founded by some wandering priests a couple of decades ago in Ierendi Island. DM Tools Monster Locations * '''Any * Coltpixy * Dinosaur * Doppleganger * Dragon, Undead * Drake, Man- * Dwarf * Elf * Gargoyle * Gargoyle, Iron * Goat * Gremlin * Halfling * Horse * Lich * Living Statue, Crystal * Living Statue, Iron * Living Statue, Jade * Living Statue, Rock * Living Statue, Rock/Ooze * Living Statue, Silver * Living Statue, Steel * Phantom * Pooka * Rat, Giant * Sidhe ("sh-ee") * Skeletal Beast * Skeleton * Wererat * Wight * Wildcat * Zombie * Freshwater Crab, Giant Crocodile Eel, Weed Fish, Giant Bass Fish, Giant Rock- Fish, Giant Sturgeon Lizardfolk/Lizard Man Nuckalvee Serpentweed, Giant Sprite, Nixie Termite, Giant Water Water Weird * Mountain Ape, White Devil Swine Eagle Giant, Storm Goat, Wild Hawk Hawk, Giant Raven/Crow Raven/Crow, Giant * Open Ape, White Bat Birch Dove Devil Swine Eagle Ferret, Giant Gnome Goat, Wild Hawk Lizard, Chameleon Mule Raven/Crow Raven/Crow, Giant Robber Fly Sheep Sirenflower * Saltwater Crab, Giant Dolphin Dragon Turtle Dragon, Sea Eel, Electric Eel, Giant Electric Eel, Weed Elf, Aquatic Fish, Giant Bass Fish, Giant Sturgeon Giant, Storm Kna Kopru Kraken Manta Ray Manta Ray, Giant Masher Merfolk (Merrow) Mesmer Nuckalvee Octopus, Giant Oyster, Giant Sea Horse Sea Serpent Shark, Bull Shark, Great White Shark, Mako Shark, Vamora Shark-Kin (Sahuagin) Snake, Sea Squid, Giant Strangleweed Termite, Giant Water Triton Velya, Ocean Water Weird Wereshark Whale, Cachalot (Sperm) Whale, Narwhal Whale, Orca * Underground Amoeba, Giant Ape, White Black Pudding Crab, Giant Fungus, Blackspore Fungus, Darksnap Fungus, Pearldew Fungus, Shaman Fungus, Strider Gnome Hydra (5 - 12 heads) Lizardfolk/Lizard Man Nightgleet Ochre Jelly Sporacle Stirge Yellow Mould * Wetlands Amoeba, Giant Bat Black Pudding Crocodile Devil Swine Dragon, Black Fungus, Blackspore Fungus, Darksnap Fungus, Pearldew Fungus, Shaman Fungus, Strider Hag, Black Hydra (5 - 12 heads) Jupiter Blood Sucker Kopru Leech, Giant Lizardfolk/Lizard Man Nightgleet Nuckalvee Ochre Jelly Purple Moss Serpentweed, Giant Swan Termite, Giant Water Velya, Swamp * Wooded Bat Birch Dove Boar Boar, Great Brownie Brownie, Redcap Devil Swine Dragon, Green Dryad Eagle Faun (Satyr) Ferret, Giant Fungus, Blackspore Fungus, Darksnap Fungus, Pearldew Fungus, Shaman Fungus, Strider Gnome Hag, Black Hawk Jupiter Blood Sucker Lizard, Chameleon Monkey Pig, Wild Purple Moss Raven/Crow Raven/Crow, Giant Robber Fly Skunk Skunk, Giant Sprite Sprite, Pixie Stirge Vampire Vampire, Nosferatu Werebat Wereboar Category:Ierendi Category:Brun Category:Known World